The Devil Wears Prada has really stuck around. It’s a modern classic, a dramedy with a dash of romance, but really it’s a special kind of Cinderella story and a cautionary tale. The smart girl gets a Vogue makeover and learns how to be good at her job, but at what cost to her soul, ambition and personal relationships? I personally think the right actors were cast across the board. Meryl Streep was Oscar-nominated for her Anna Wintour-esque turn as Miranda Priestly. Emily Blunt’s supporting role made her into a huge star. Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci and Adrian Grenier rounded out the supporting cast. But the movie largely hinges on Anne Hathaway’s performance as Andi Sacks. Anne fought for the role even when producers weren’t sure about her, and she turned in a star-making performance too. Anne always said that she really had to beg and plead for this role, and I always wondered which actress they wanted instead of Anne? As it turns out, they wanted Kate Hudson. Ugh.
Kate Hudson still had regrets about turning down a role in The Devil Wears Prada. The actress, who was initially asked to play Andy Sachs (which Anne Hathaway ultimately portrayed), recently said on Capital FM that she wishes she made her schedule work to star in the 2006 film, alongside Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.
“That was a bad call. And it was like a timing thing. It was one of those things where I couldn’t do it, and I should’ve made it happen, and I didn’t,” Hudson said. “That was one where when I saw it I was like, ugh. But again, everything happens for a reason. There’s a reason for that. That was a real like, ‘I should’ve made that work.’”
The Devil Wears Prada, directed by David Frankel, was adapted from Lauren Weisberger’s novel of the same name. It follows aspiring journalist Andy, who travels to New York City and starts working as an assistant to one of the city’s biggest high fashion magazine editors, the cynical Miranda Priestly (Streep).
“It’s funny, it’s waves of things that are happening and people shooting at different times,” Hudson added. “It’s not like you don’t do them because you don’t want to do them. It’s like, oh, you’re doing something else. And it just sucked, you know?”
Around the time that The Devil Wears Prada was being filmed and was released, Hudson was working on several other projects, including 2003’s How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 2005’s The Skeleton Key, 2006’s You, Me and Dupree, 2008’s Fool’s Gold and 2008’s My Best Friend’s Girl. She also later teamed up with Hathaway for 2009’s Bride Wars.
I just got a flashback to the early and mid-’00s and how Kate Hudson was the first choice for every script. If they couldn’t get Kate, they were trying to get Cameron Diaz. Yeah… anyway, I’m glad Kate was too busy because she would not have done a good job with Andrea. Kate would have played it too aw-shucks bubbly and way too slapstick. I’m glad Anne fought so hard for a film she knew she was right for.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, stills from ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’.
